A Year and a Day

  The responsibility of keeping the peace between Scots and English rested lightly on his shoulders. In Lynx’s experience, men were men. When dealt with fairly, they would respond in kind whether they were Scot or Hottentot.

  He donned the dark tunic and hose, then pulled on black boots whose leather was soft as butter. He slicked back his wet hair and fastened it with a thong at his nape, then selected a heavy gold chain, a cabochon emerald ring, and his favorite dagger. Lynx suddenly realized he was ravenous. He picked up a russet apple from a bowl of fruit and bit into it with relish, then descended the stairs that led to Jane’s chambers. Again, he found the room empty. He wondered idly where she was and stepped to the archway to glance into the other chamber.

  Jane was standing on a high stool with her back toward him, putting up clean bed-curtains. Feeling decidedly playful at the sight of her, Lynx came up behind her silently, hoping to surprise her. As she stood on her tiptoes to thread the heavy material through the curtain ring, he growled low in his throat and pounced. “I’ve got you now!” he exulted, as he snatched her into his arms.

  Jane shrieked and stared up into devilish green eyes as her heart pounded and her pulses raced madly.

  Lynx stared at the small mound of her belly. “Splendor of God, are you with child?” He dropped the apple and his eyes widened. “You are with child!”

  “Yes, my lord.” Jane held her breath, uncertain of his reaction.

  “But that’s marvelous! What a clever girl you are.” Lynx began to laugh with joy and Jane let out her breath and laughed with him. Suddenly he sobered. “Are you mad?” He felt anger and joy simultaneously. “What the devil are you doing up on a stool endangering the baby! You must not engage in these kinds of activities while you are in such a delicate condition. There are servants to do this sort of thing. In fact, you must not engage in any work at all until after the child is born.”

  Jane felt resentment rise up in her as she envisioned every freedom being taken away from her. He was far too dominant, issuing orders the moment he returned. “We are only handfasted, not wed,” she reminded him. “You have no authority over me.”

  The expression on his face was incredulous. “I have every authority over you. Shall I prove it by ordering you to bed until my child is born?”

  Jane’s resentment melted into panic and she knew she must placate him, rather than challenge him. “Don’t be fierce with me, my lord. I am perfectly well and so is the baby. It won’t be here for three more months.”

  Lynx’s momentary flare of anger changed to concern. Gently, he set her down in the big chair and carried over a cushioned stool. “Put your feet up,” he suggested. “The baby you’re carrying doesn’t appear to be very big, are you sure it’s all right?” Without waiting for a reply he ordered, “You must eat more.” A terrible thought struck him. “Christ almighty, that young fool Taffy has let you ride! The irresponsible young devil has no notion of the danger to which he has subjected the child.”

  Lynx began to pace. “No more riding. I’ll have a litter made for you. You must be more careful … nothing must happen to this child.”

  “Lord de Warenne, I swear to you that the baby will be all right.”

  Lynx stopped pacing and looked down at her earnest face. “You must think me the world’s greatest fool.”

  “Nay, my lord, I think you the world’s most concerned father.”

  He laughed then. “I’m going to be a father! If I don’t tell someone, I’ll burst. I’ll announce it in the hall!”

  Jane tried to rise, but he stayed her with his hand. “Don’t exert yourself, lady, I’ll have a tray sent up. There must be no more running up and down stairs!”

  Jane hadn’t known what Lord de Warenne would say or do when he first saw her. She had both dreaded and anticipated his greeting. Would he be pleased about the child? Would he embrace her? She certainly hadn’t expected his grave anxieties over such a natural condition. Jane felt frustrated. He had demanded that she eat more, stop riding, and stay in her chamber with her feet up!

  She told herself that when he became accustomed to the pregnancy, he would see how irrational his orders were. Lynx de Warenne had embraced her after all, but that had been before he realized she was carrying his child. He had been in a teasing mood, growling like a lynx and playfully pouncing on her. Jane sighed; was she relieved or disappointed that his game of seduction had ended so abruptly? She pushed the question away and decided to go down to the stables to take another look at the palfrey’s leg.

  Jane murmured the mare’s name as her hands slid down over Sheba’s fetlocks. She was so deep in thought she did not see the lady approach and was unaware of her presence until she spoke.

  “I didn’t introduce myself before, or even ask your name, and you have been so kind to my mare. I’m Marjory de Warenne.”

  Jane straightened and saw Lynx’s sister extend her hand. She had changed into a gown the shade of amethysts and Jane thought she looked even more beautiful than the first time she had seen her. “My name is Jane Leslie, my lady.”

  “Jane Leslie?” Jory’s green eyes swept over the plainly clad girl before her in amazement. For once she was rendered almost speechless. Her glance paused on the girl’s midsection, then Jory lifted her eyes to the young woman’s face and smiled tenderly. “Jane, I’m so very happy to meet you. Does my brother know he’s going to be a father?”

  “Yes, and I know he is overjoyed at the thought of a child, but he wants to totally control me. The child is everything to him while I am nothing more than a broodmare.”

  “Oh, my dear, I’m sure Lynx doesn’t think of you that way. You are a very beautiful young woman. I’ll help you to get him to view you as desirable in your own right,” Jory promised. “But, Jane, you shouldn’t be tending my horse, you are the Lady of Dumfries!”

  “Nay, I’m not a lady because I am not of noble birth. I am not married to your brother, I am handfasted for a year and a day. ’Tis a Scottish custom whereby a man and woman live together. At the end of the allotted time they either decide to marry or to part.” She decided to be forthright with Jory. “I never wished to marry. This is what I like to do. I have a gift for healing animals. Your Sheba has a weakness in her legs, but with the right exercise, I can make her legs strong.”

  Again, Jory was momentarily speechless. “How kind and thoughtful you are. Jane,” she said impulsively, “let’s be friends?”

  Jane nodded. “I would like that very much.”

  Jory’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, my dear, I’m going to turn you into Lady Jane. Nay, more than that; when I’m done with you, you’ll be Lady Jane Tut!”

  15

  Jory entered the dining hall accompanied by Alicia and Elizabeth de Burgh. “Let’s sit here, let’s not go up on the dais tonight,” Jory suggested as she was eagerly greeted by Lynx’s knights.

  Alicia agreed instantly. After the indifferent way Lynx had treated her, she decided to respond with cool disdain. A rebuff might be just what he needed to make him eager for her company.

  When de Warenne arrived, accompanied by a dozen knights and their squires, all were laughing in great good humor. They filled the dais, never seeming to notice that the ladies sat elsewhere.

  As the fish course was followed by haunches of roast mutton, Lynx was relieved to see that as usual his steward had coped, and an influx of over four hundred hungry men had not daunted him. Tonight, Lynx felt there was no finer place on earth than Dumfries. He no longer doubted the wisdom of the handfasting he had entered into with Jane Leslie; she had proven amazingly fertile.

  A great feeling of well-being enveloped him and spread to include everyone in the vast hall. Finally, he would have an heir and the child would be born here at Dumfries. He took a deep breath of satisfaction and in that moment felt omnipotent. Lynx surged to his feet and held up his hands to quiet the din.

  As Jory gazed up at him with affection, she wondered why on earth Jane was not at his side.

  Alicia caught
her breath as she watched Lynx. He was the most compelling man she’d ever known and now that his uncle was Governor of Scotland, he was a rare prize indeed. She instantly changed her mind about treating him with disdain.

  “Raise your cups with me and drink a toast to Dumfries.” Hundreds of hands were raised. “I am about to become a father!”

  Pandemonium broke loose. Men hooted, whistled, and banged their dagger handles on the tables.

  Jory looked at her dinner companion’s stunned face and murmured, “Alicia, you’re leaving teeth marks on your goblet.”

  Alicia banged her goblet down so hard, her wine sloshed over the rim. “Where is the slut? I’ll soon put an end to her little schemes!”

  Lynx came down from the dais and joined the Leslie family, who were all sitting together tonight. All his men joined him in toasting them, then Jock Leslie proposed a toast to Lynx de Warenne.

  Alicia hissed, “Who are these people?” as her eyes narrowed on the females at the Leslie table.

  “Jock Leslie is Dumfries’ steward. Jane is his daughter,” Jory explained.

  “He’s been dallying with his steward’s daughter? Then she’s just a servant,” Alicia said with contempt.

  “It’s not dallying; Lynx and Jane are handfasted.”

  “Handfasted? What the devil is that?”

  “Tis an honorable Scottish custom, whereby a man and woman are pledged for a year and a day. If they suit each other, they marry.”

  “Honorable custom my eye. Tis just another scheme concocted by men to get between a woman’s legs! As if Lord de Warenne would wed a slut!”

  “But, Alicia, you expected Lynx to wed with you,” Jory pointed out sweetly.

  “You bitch! You think this amusing. You knew about this and didn’t have the decency to tell me. Which one is she?”

  “Oh, Jane isn’t here. A tray was carried up to her. She and Lynx share the Master Tower.”

  The knights at their table were listening avidly to Alicia’s outburst of temper. When she realized the display she was making, she stopped speaking immediately and began to plot in silence.

  It seemed that each and every one of his men came to congratulate Lord de Warenne and drink to his health and that of his unborn heir. When the atmosphere in the hall proceeded from boisterous to uproarious, Elizabeth de Burgh’s women ushered her up to bed. Jory took herself upstairs shortly thereafter, but Alicia lingered, biding her time.

  She decided to take a page from Jory de Warenne’s book and make herself sweet and amenable. It was said that you could catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and Alicia was ready to try it. Actually, she was ready to try anything. Alicia waited until Lynx finished a game of dice, watched him rise, half expecting him to stagger from all the drink he had consumed, and approached him. He seemed to stiffen at her approach, but she smiled up into his green eyes and said softly, “Congratulations, Lynx, I am so happy for you.”

  She watched his eyes narrow. “You are happy, Alicia?”

  She placed her hand on his arm. “I know how long you have wished for a child. You must be so happy tonight … and if you are happy, then I am too.”

  “Thank you, Alicia, that’s most understanding of you.”

  “Well, we do have an understanding, don’t we?”

  She saw that his eyes were no longer narrowed against her, they had taken on an owlish quality. “I thought you’d be—”

  “Jealous?” She laughed softly. “Your relationship with the mother of your child has absolutely nothing to do with me … with us.”

  “That is true.”

  Alicia wanted to draw his dagger and plunge it into his cold heart, instead she deepened her smile. Her fingers caressed his muscled arm. “I’m here for you, Lynx.” She laughed up at him and teased, “Why else would I brave this barbarous land?” She bade him go back and enjoy himself, and as she left, she glanced back at him over her shoulder, making sure the invitation was crystal clear.

  Up in her chamber, Jane tried to finish all the food Taffy had brought up to her, but it was impossible. She pushed the tray aside and brought out her touchstones and paints in an effort to calm her excitement. When she heard the tap on her chamber door, her heart slammed against her ribs and Jane walked to the door on weak legs, wishing he had not come so early.

  When Jane opened the door to find Marjory, she was vastly relieved. “Oh, do come in, my lady.”

  “Jane, if we are going to be friends, you must call me Jory.”

  “You have green eyes, like Lynx.” “Cat eyes. Yours are far prettier, you have doe eyes.” Jane received so few compliments, she was unconvinced.

  “Lynx announced your wonderful news in the hall tonight. Why on earth weren’t you at his side?”

  “All those men … anyway, I don’t think my lord wanted me there.”

  “Nonsense, he would have displayed you like a trophy, you know what men are like!” Jory looked at Jane’s face. “No, you don’t know what men are like. What fun I’m going to have teaching you!”

  “My lord told me I mustn’t exert myself and sent food up for me. He said the baby doesn’t look big enough and told me I must eat more, but I couldn’t finish it all.”

  Jory looked at the food that remained. “Good God, if you ate all that, you’d be big as a pig full of figs! Take no notice of what Lynx says; what does he know?”

  “But I must obey him,” Jane said resentfully.

  Jory began to laugh and couldn’t stop. “Oh, how droll you are. Oh, I’m going to peel Jane, what on earth makes you think you must obey him?” Jory asked, wiping away tears of mirth.

  “He is the lord here—he is all-powerful.”

  “That is true, but you are the lady here; his power is your power. You must wind him about your finger. Men don’t admire meek and submissive women, not real men anyway. They admire women who are willful and a little bit wanton.”

  “I feel no power, Jory.”

  “That is because you don’t exercise it. Let’s see, could you gentle a stallion and make it eat out of your hand?” “Easily.”

  “Then think of Lynx as a stallion.” Jane laughed. “That would be easy enough.” “Great fun, too. Think of it as a game,” Jory suggested.

  “I don’t know how to play games.”

  “Then I’ll teach you! Men love games, they play them all the time, both literally and figuratively. They dice, they play chess. Take the king … he plays war games, his chess pieces are countries. My uncle John de Warenne’s chess pieces are his generals.”

  “I thought games were for gambling.”

  “They are, Jane. Men are addicted to gambling. It’s a love-hate thing. They love to win, hate to lose. It’s the risk that tempts them.”

  Jane could clearly see that Jory herself would be tempting to a man. “You have such beautiful clothes.”

  “Don’t you?”

  Impulsively, Jane took her hand. “Let me show you.” They went through to the bedchamber where Jane opened her wardrobe. She showed Jory two woolen dresses. “These are what I used to wear. Before Lynx went away he left orders the needlewomen make me some new garments.”

  Jory looked at Jane’s gown. The material was fine enough, but its color and style left much to be desired. “I design my own clothes, choose my own colors, and you must do the same.” “I couldn’t.”

  Jory put her finger to Jane’s lips. “Repeat after me: I will and I shall!”

  “I will and I shall,” Jane whispered tentatively.

  “Now put your hands on your hips and say it as if you mean it.”

  “I will and I shall!” Jane repeated, then dissolved into laughter.

  “Splendid! Now, what colors do you like?”

  “I like what you are wearing.”

  “Amethyst? Yes, this color would look lovely with your red-gold hair. Jane, you can wear colors that I can’t, such as yellow. I look best in pastel shades, but you would be vivid in bright jewel tones. Just imagine yourself in sapphire blue.”

>   “I couldn’t.”

  Jory’s eyes flashed their warning.

  “I will and I shall,” Jane declared with a smile that revealed her dimples. “Oh, I wish my hair was as pretty as yours.”

  “Perhaps it is, but we’ll never know if you wear it tortured into tight plaits. You should wear it down. Is it as long as mine?”

  “Longer, but I c— I will and I shall,” Jane amended. “Jory, it’s easy to say it, but doing it will be so much harder.”

  “Of course it won’t. We’ll transform you overnight. You will be Jane when you go to bed, but when you open your eyes in the morning, you will be Lady Jane Tut!”

  Jane stopped laughing. “Bed,” she murmured. “What time is it?”

  Marjory knew that the thought of Lynx had wiped all others from Jane’s mind. “When Lynx comes tonight,” Jory warned, “he’ll be more than a little intoxicated. You know what men are like when they’ve had far too much to drink.” She looked at Jane’s face. “No, you don’t know.” Jory explained, “They are extremely amorous, but completely incapable.”

  When Jane looked uncertain, Jory elaborated, “The only thing that swells gloriously forth is loud snoring!”

  It was a point of honor that Lynx remain on his feet longer than his knights or men-at-arms. And of course the English tried to outdrink the Scots, a virtual impossibility. It was long past midnight when Lynx made his way to the Master Tower. In mid-step he realized that he was about to disturb Jane. Rest was extremely important for a mother-to-be. What a thoughtless devil he was.

  Lynx did an immediate about-face, albeit very carefully. Then he tried to recall where Alicia’s room was. “Of course, it’s in the west wing,” he muttered, striking his forehead with the heel of his palm. “How could I forget when she complained so much?”

  “Lynx,” Alicia said softly. She had almost given up hope, but now felt a surge of smug satisfaction.

  “Alicia.”

  “Come in, darling. I’ve missed you so much.” He seemed rooted to the spot, so she pulled him across the threshold and closed the door. Lynx leaned back against it to steady himself as she came into his arms. Lust surged up in him as he pushed her gown from her shoulders and set his mouth to her throat. “It’s warm in here.”